Does anyone have a LAS APP recording from today (2013-07-08) beginning at approx. 2:10pm CDT (1910z)? SWA2709 responded to an instruction and then experienced a stuck mic. Some fairly hilarious cockpit conversation ensued... as well as an F-bomb getting dropped loud 'n' clear.

Unfortunately I was too busy laughing to think to set VLC to stream it to a file.

The LiveATC archives have the last 30 days of recordings. I took the liberty to get the relevant portion (and I do hope SWA2709 contacted the tower).

Oh man, that's the "relevant" portion, but I was just dying for the payoff... The best part of stuck mic situations is what happens after...

(Was it a New York or BOS controller - after a pilot gave his passenger briefing over the air - who just kinda sat back and transmitted "OK guys, let him have it...." Hilarity ensued.

Aside from one's expectation that the pilot in question will get a huge amount of grief from his colleagues, I have a question about the "sterile cockpit" rule. I'm guessing if they were being handed from approach to tower, they were probably below 10,000 ft, and thus technically under sterile cockpit rules. How strict are the regulations about "nonessential conversations"?

Note: I am not intending or proposing to sit in judgment of this crew, based on this recording, and I don't want to turn this thread into that, but this recording does bring to mind the general question of just how rigorously that rule is adhered to by different pilots and crews. General thoughts and/or experiences?

Aside from one's expectation that the pilot in question will get a huge amount of grief from his colleagues, I have a question about the "sterile cockpit" rule. I'm guessing if they were being handed from approach to tower, they were probably below 10,000 ft, and thus technically under sterile cockpit rules. How strict are the regulations about "nonessential conversations"?

Note: I am not intending or proposing to sit in judgment of this crew, based on this recording, and I don't want to turn this thread into that, but this recording does bring to mind the general question of just how rigorously that rule is adhered to by different pilots and crews. General thoughts and/or experiences?

I'm not a pilot, but have flown in Flight Simulator X and FlightGear (if that counts for anything). During descent or under 10000 ft, I wouldn't even consider having a nonessential conversation with all that's going on (flaps, speed, altitude, alignment, etc.).

EDIT: That was from the APP/DEP feed. The tower feed does have 2709 checking in. From what I could understand, the controller asked him if he was coming in loud and clear, and then he was cleared to land. Nothing else interesting with regards to SWA2709.

Is it possible the frequency on the plane changed slightly (like by .025) such that the other aircraft/ATC no longer hears the aircraft or hears it faintly, but the feeder's equipment still picked it up since the frequency difference is small?

Svoynick - That famous clip was a JFK ground controller. Don't know if it is a sticky LiveATC link here, but it is on YouTube:

And Salarcot, it all depends upon the location of the feed antenna in relation to the ATC ground stations and the aircraft. An aircraft on approach is still airborne, relatively close and will come in pretty strong, but other aircraft that are closer to the ground station or have a better path will hear ground over the stuck mic. You really have no way of knowing where the ATC ground stations for approach and departure are without research, but often they are NOT located at the airfield, often many miles away, so the effect of a stuck mic on overall communications is fairly unpredictable. These transmission are AM, so unlike FM there is no "capture effect" and almost all signals can be heard by anybody even if it is just a weak heterodyne (squeal or tone) in the background under the stronger signals. If the aircraft were 25kc off the heterodyne would be inaudibly high even if the audio sections of the receiver and feed chain could pass it to your ears (which would also not hear it unless you are a dog or a bat), but most receivers and scanners would not pick it up at all unless very close/strong, and if off by say a couple kc you would hear the heterodyne.

Aside from one's expectation that the pilot in question will get a huge amount of grief from his colleagues, I have a question about the "sterile cockpit" rule. I'm guessing if they were being handed from approach to tower, they were probably below 10,000 ft, and thus technically under sterile cockpit rules. How strict are the regulations about "nonessential conversations"?

Note: I am not intending or proposing to sit in judgment of this crew, based on this recording, and I don't want to turn this thread into that, but this recording does bring to mind the general question of just how rigorously that rule is adhered to by different pilots and crews. General thoughts and/or experiences?

I'm not a pilot, but have flown in Flight Simulator X and FlightGear (if that counts for anything). During descent or under 10000 ft, I wouldn't even consider having a nonessential conversation with all that's going on (flaps, speed, altitude, alignment, etc.).

EDIT: That was from the APP/DEP feed. The tower feed does have 2709 checking in. From what I could understand, the controller asked him if he was coming in loud and clear, and then he was cleared to land. Nothing else interesting with regards to SWA2709.

Aside from one's expectation that the pilot in question will get a huge amount of grief from his colleagues, I have a question about the "sterile cockpit" rule. I'm guessing if they were being handed from approach to tower, they were probably below 10,000 ft, and thus technically under sterile cockpit rules. How strict are the regulations about "nonessential conversations"?

Note: I am not intending or proposing to sit in judgment of this crew, based on this recording, and I don't want to turn this thread into that, but this recording does bring to mind the general question of just how rigorously that rule is adhered to by different pilots and crews. General thoughts and/or experiences?

I'm not a pilot, but have flown in Flight Simulator X and FlightGear (if that counts for anything). During descent or under 10000 ft, I wouldn't even consider having a nonessential conversation with all that's going on (flaps, speed, altitude, alignment, etc.).

EDIT: That was from the APP/DEP feed. The tower feed does have 2709 checking in. From what I could understand, the controller asked him if he was coming in loud and clear, and then he was cleared to land. Nothing else interesting with regards to SWA2709.

For whomever wondered about yelling "Stuck Mike" - think about that for a second... Yes, it is often done by other aircraft or a controller - but it absolutely does No Good! When the offending aircraft is stuck in transmit mode there can be no reception until the stuck mic is corrected. (Once the channel is clear it might be worthwhile to mention that someone had a stuck mic previously)

And yes - this conversation in the late part of the approach does not flatter the crew in any regard...

I am reading the autobiography of an American WW2 fighter pilot, he tells the story of a fellow squadron member with a stuck mike during a combat mission.The offending pilot would talk to himself during the mission so everyone got to hear is "inner monologue" including "what's this idiot doing" when a wing man pulls along side to try and clue him in on the stuck mike. Very funny.

I am reading the autobiography of an American WW2 fighter pilot, he tells the story of a fellow squadron member with a stuck mike during a combat mission.The offending pilot would talk to himself during the mission so everyone got to hear is "inner monologue" including "what's this idiot doing" when a wing man pulls along side to try and clue him in on the stuck mike. Very funny.

Definitely sounds like they're listening to music! I'm sure the public would be shaking their heads at this, but I gotta just laugh this one off. Yes, they're deep into the arrival phase, and yes, it's anything BUT a sterile cockpit, but they're having fun and getting the job done at the same time. I'm sure this happens wayyyy more than just in this one example.

Thanks for the laugh. Love the "it flies like a -700...only different". Love how you can hear the autopilot disconnect ("Dive! Dive!") and the trim wheel spin, too.

Best one I've heard in a while...definitely better taste than the good ol' "Gringos Grannies and Grandes" clip from a year or two ago.